


Letters From Atlas

by Lobb



Series: Atlesian Nights [2]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fluff, Letters, Rare Pairings, feel good
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:40:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23458741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lobb/pseuds/Lobb
Summary: Hey, Daddy- That was how her messages always started.  It was so perfectly Neon that he couldn’t help but smile every time he saw the words.  And that was when the memories would start.  [Neon Nights]
Relationships: Jaune Arc/Neon Katt
Series: Atlesian Nights [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1718107
Comments: 18
Kudos: 100





	1. I Met You There

**AN:** Why does NoOne do this to me? Why do I do this to myself? I’m terrible. I really suck at this. PFFFT. Have some feel good nonsense to improve your quarantine lives.

**Synopsis** :  _ Hey, Daddy _ \- That was how her messages always started. It was so perfectly Neon that he couldn’t help but smile every time he saw the words. And that was when the memories would start. [Neon Nights]

  
  
  


**Letters From Atlas**

**Prologue**

**I Met You There**

**[RWBY Vol 1. OST; EP 13 Score (Nope!)]**

__ _ Hey, Daddy- _

__ _ Hope you’re doing okay there. I haven’t heard from you since we seperated after the Tournament fell apart. Hope you’re alright. I know it’s kind of forward, but if you need somewhere to come after… what happened, I can probably hook you up with my Mom for a little while. Atlas isn’t in the best shape after all the mess, but at least it’s an academy and you can finish classes. _

__ _ I know what happened was just a little thing, but no one deserves to be alone after what you went through. _

__ _ People care about you-  _ **_especially_ ** _ me, don’t forget that. I know you can’t get a call out or something, but when you link up and get this, send me a message back, okay? _

_ -Neon _

  
  


__ The world seemed so much more small and gray to Jaune after Beacon’s fall. The academy was stuffed to the brim with Grimm and that just seemed to be a kick in the balls after losing Pyrrha.

Pyrrha…

That thought always brought a morose mood to him. And the rest of the goings on didn’t make it any better. Ruby and Yang had returned to Patch, both to recuperate from what had happened and because it was unsafe in Vale now.

With Weiss having been taken back to Atlas and Blake having run off, that meant that the only ones left were him and the remnants of JNPR, and CRDL. Team CFVY had left to Shade in Vacuo.

For the first time in a long time, Jaune felt alone again. Not since he’d left Ansel had it been a struggle to keep his thoughts in order. He’d found friends, even if they were a little more fair weather than Pyrrha and Ruby had been.

He was just going to focus on her name now, wasn’t he?

It was eating up his chest. It came out in a choked sob as he sat in one of the few refugee centers that had been set up in the city proper. A library that still had a functioning relay system, thank whatever still watched over them.

As he stared at his Scroll- slotted into the terminal and ready to connect a call within what remained of the international grid after the Tower had been sabotaged- he wondered what it was that he was doing.

Admitting defeat? Giving up?

Pyrrha wouldn’t have wanted him to do that. He didn’t want to do it, either.

Just the thought alone made him choke.

For a moment, a ghost of lips against his own tickled his senses, and he didn’t care who heard or saw it as his arms crossed on the terminal-top and he buried his face in his arms.

Jaune Arc cried. He wasn’t sure how long he did, but no one bothered him- no one cared.

Everyone else was dealing with their own losses, their own pain. He couldn’t hold it against anyone else. Even Professor Goodwitch, who had kept up a stern and unbending appearance, seemed to move with a heavier weight when he saw her.

The world had never looked so gray.

A soft tone drew his attention after what felt like hours, and he looked at his Scroll, seeing the alert for an e-mail message flashing in it’s corner. For a moment, he thought of dismissing it, but he sat back up and let his hands move over the terminal’s keys.

The address was familiar, and despite himself, he felt guilty for the relief that washed over him.

At least somewhere, there was some color in the world.

  
  


x+x+x+x+x+x

  
  


_ Hey, Neon- _

__ _ Thanks. Things in Vale are a mess right now, but this place is my home- and I have people I need to look after. _

__ _ Leader responsibilities, y’know? It sucks, but someone has to do it- gotta be the big man and stand up with your back straight. _

__ _ Don’t laugh at me, I know you are. I can hear it from here. _

__ _ It’s good to hear from you, though. Helps to not feel like I’m alone. _

__ _ I hope things are okay in Atlas. You never told me about your Mom. She must be a pretty cool cat (is that racist? I hope it’s not racist, I was just trying to be funny) to have raised a girl like you. _

__ _ Me and the guys are just helping with the relief as much as we can. It’s… hard, though. _

__ _ I know you don’t want to hear that. Sorry. _

__ _ After we’re done here, I’m gonna go check on Ruby and Yang on Patch, make sure that they’ll be okay, too. Then, I’ll probably figure out where we’re going from there. _

__ _ I’ll keep in touch. _

  * _Jaune_



  
  


“Well, that sucked.” The feline Faunus noted, kicking her legs back and forth as she looked over the courtyard of Beacon Academy. While her good mood after the fight had persisted, it didn’t stop the disappointment.

They come all the way from Atlas to participate in the Vytal tournament- gotten through to the two-man portion, only to be taken out. And why? Because she’d messed up.

That was a harder pill to swallow, if she was honest. Flynt had been anything but upset, though that didn’t stop the fact she blamed herself more than she’d ever blame him.

She’d been playing around too much, again. She had a bad habit of that. It was better she learned the lesson while it was in a less dangerous position, and so she silently swore it would be something she would improve upon.

For the moment, though, she would settle for making herself feel better. “Woo! Party time. Let’s go find a place to unwind.” Neon couldn’t help but let a smile cross her features again. She could even feel her tail flicking back and forth as she slid back unto her roller-blades and started to slide along the paved stones with a song in her heart that she started to hum.

It was there that she saw him, slipping his way through the crowd of incoming towards the Bullheads going back down into Vale.

Tall, blonde, jeans a little tight on his legs and- so- hugging a part of him she couldn’t help but admire.

_ Oooh, he’s got a cute butt… _ The Faunus thought to herself with a sly smile, slipping her way along through the crowd, before following the blonde along into the Bullhead going down below.

As he turned and settled into a seat, she saw his face for the first time, and she couldn’t help but admire the slight bit of discomfort that made him all the more delightful.  _ He’s that team leader on Pyrrha Nikos’ team, isn’t he? What was his name…? Ahh! Lame! I can’t even remember his name! _

Well, Neon wasn’t going to let that stop her. Disengaging the wheels from her boots, she slid her way along and past a group of passengers, flopping down into the seat next to him with a grin that she’d never say was all too cat-like.

“Hi, cutie!”

  
  


+x+x+x+x+

  
  


_ Hey, Daddy- _

__ _ I’m totally not laughing at you. You didn’t hear anything. _

__ _ Okay, maybe a little giggle. _

__ _ You’re not alone, Jaune. You’ve probably got a bunch of people who are ready and willing to step up and tell you face to face, but I know it probably doesn’t feel that way. Sorry it took so long to send this, I was in classes. _

__ _ My mom is great. She hugged me when I got back, y’know. Total mom vibes, totes embarrassing- but at least I have someone who loves me and wants me around, y’know? _

__ _ I think she’d like you. Mom hated all the guys I dated before. I always was a party girl. I think you’re the first “good boy” I’ve ever done anything with. _

__ _ Not that you’re anything but good where it counts =^-^= _

__ _ Now I can hear you blushing~ _

__ _ Hope that made you smile, Daddy. Keep in touch. Want to know you’re safe, and everyone else is okay, too. Tell Top-heavy that I’m still down to party if she ever ends up in Atlas. _

_ -Neon _

  
  


The trip to Patch was miserable. Not because he felt it, but because they’d had to take a Bullhead to get to the island. Which sucked- even with all of his time spent on them in order to lessen his air sickness, he never did get over it- just more tolerant.

The rebuilding effort wasn’t going anywhere fast, and so he’d made the decision to go check on his friends- the fact that Ren and Nora had come along had surprised him.

But they’d simply both looked at him and Nora had said, in no uncertain terms, “Where you go, we go.”

He wasn’t one for hugs most of the time, but he’d pulled them both into his arms and squeezed them hard enough that even Nora was protesting after a few moments.

Neon’s mails weren’t the only thing keeping him grounded, and he hoped it stayed that way. Especially if he had to support his team and the remnants of RWBY, as well.

It was weird for him to be the big brother for once, but he didn’t mind it. If anything, it gave him something to think about besides Pyrrha. It was one of the few things that could keep him focused.

Keep his mind busy, keep putting one foot in front of the other. It was sad that, like Ren and Nora, he no longer had someone to go back to.

Sure, he could go back to his family in Ansel, but it’d be the same as admitting defeat. Going back to a family that’d said he could come home when things didn’t work out.

And if that thought didn’t make him only marginally less depressed than thinking about Pyrrha did, Jaune couldn’t help but find it funny.

As they stepped off of the Bullhead, he swallowed a thick gulp of air to try and push down his nausea.

He had friends to help, even if he wasn’t sure Yang would take their help. He’d already heard about how the blonde sister had taken the Professors’ visits- and supposedly Ruby was still unconscious.

That didn’t mean he was going to give up, though.

“Come on, guys.” He offered a bitter, glass-like smile to Ren and Nora as he started walking.

One foot in front of the other.


	2. You Changed My Life

**Letters From Atlas**

**Chapter One**

**You Changed My Life**

  
  


_ Hey, Daddy- _

__ _ I hope things are doing great since our last mail. You said something about heading towards Mistral, and I hope you’re safe. _

__ _ Gods, I sound like a total nerve case, don’t I? Things have been a bit messy in Atlas, Headmaster Ironwood instigated an embargo, so getting something in or out of Atlas has been a major pain. _

__ _ Did you know my cosmetics come from Vale? I didn’t! Until I couldn’t buy them anymore! SCREAM, right? =-_-= _

__ _ I really hope you’re safe. I… have something I need to talk to you about, so message me back ASAP, okay? _

_ -Neon _

  
  


“Hi, cutie!”

Jaune looked up from his Scroll, trying to distract himself from the ensuing flight- only to look into a pair of pretty green eyes. If it hadn’t been just that day, he wouldn’t have recognized the girl- but he’d been there in the arena, watching the match as it’d occured. “Oh, hey, you’re… Neon, right?”

“Well, that sucks, you remember my name but I can’t remember your’s! My bad.” The pout the girl gave was terribly reminiscent of so many other girls he knew that he could only smile in return. It was a nervous little thing that made him wonder if she could tell how he’d never been approached by a girl before-

-or called cute.

“The name’s Jaune. Jaune Arc. Someday, the ladies’ll love it.” He couldn’t help letting out a little bit of smarminess with it, and when she smiled in return, he felt a little better.

“Oh? Well, this kitty might learn to. What’re you doin’, going into Vale all alone?”

“Trying to unwind. Even with me not taking part in the matches, it’s a lot of stress, y’know?”

“That’s perfect! You gotta know a place in this city where we can party, right?!”

  
  


+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+x

  
  


“What are you going to do, Neon?” The Faunus looked up from her hands, fretting with the test in her hands. Her mother’s apartment in Atlas was the one place she’d felt safe to do this, and she’d needed the support.

It was the smart thing to do, apparently.

She took a deep breath and, despite the rumbling in her chest, she felt like there was only one right answer she could give. Standing up, she slid over to wrap her mother in a hug.

“I see.” Rain Katt murmured, squeezing her daughter tightly. “It’s gonna be tough.” The pink-haired woman said, and Neon could only nod in return.

She knew it would be. But she also wasn’t one to run away from what she’d done.

Neon had been raised to be an amazing woman, and that was the only way she could think to thank the mother who had raised her all on her own- had helped make her a Huntress.

The trip back to Atlas Academy was more heavy than she’d have liked, and that only made the fact she’d have to talk with Flynt all the more nerve-wracking.

There was always at least one song that you couldn’t keep beat to, especially if you were doing it for the first time. The best she could do was prepare him by giving him a text ahead of her arrival.

So, when she saw him waiting in the courtyard of the Academy, Neon squared her shoulders and took another deep breath.

She was a believer that all kinds of music needed to be experienced firsthand.

+x++x+xx+x+x++xx+

  
  
  


_ Hey, Neon- _

__ _ Arrived in Mistral safely. Met back up with Yang and Weiss- they’re doing pretty well now. Blake even came back. I’ll tell you all about what went down at Haven soon, I promise. _

__ _ Sorry it took so long to get a mail back to you. Not much in the way of terminals throughout Anima, but as soon as I saw your message I came to the station to get back to you. What’s up? _

__ _ Are you okay? I think I can probably get a call to Atlas tonight if you get this. _

__ _ You have my number, call me ASAP if you can. We’re thinking of going to Argus next, so we’ll be closer to Atlas if I have to break off. _

__ _ I will, I promise. Arc Word, blah blah blah- you know how it is. Message me back ASAP. I’m worried about you. _

_ -Jaune _

  
  


As he watched Team RWBY bond again, Jaune could only let loose a soft sigh.

He’d almost fucked up--  **again.** It was only through the timely awakening of his Semblance that Weiss hadn’t been another on the list of people he’d failed. That thought ate him alive ever since the fight against Cinder, and only the message from Neon had kept him from having another breakdown training himself to death to Pyrrha’s message.

As he looked over the screen on the Terminal he’d found at Mistral’s CCT station, he slumped back in his chair.

They’d been dealing with so much lately that he felt it was a miracle that he could keep the presence of mind to do something as simple as send a message back to Neon.

He wasn’t a liar, though. If it was important, he’d drop everything. Friends were what mattered first, and Ruby now had her own team and he’d send Ren and Nora along with them if need be.

He could do that safely, especially if they were going to Argus. His sister was there, so at least he’d have somewhere to go if he fell behind.

Jaune wasn’t going to fail another friend. Especially… Especially Neon, after what had happened between them.

_ ~We’re all born, with a dream, we want to make come true-~ _

__ He accepted the call before it even finished playing Neon’s ringtone.

  
_ “Hey, Daddy…” _


	3. Light Within

**Letters From Atlas**

**Chapter Two**

**Light Within**

  
  


_ Hey, Daddy- _

__ _ So, good news. Everything went great. My team is being held back a semester because I had to take a break, but… _

__ _ She’s beautiful. She’s our’s. _

__ _ Sorry, I cried a little just writing that. Mom is sitting here holding her while I write this. _

__ _ Her name is Prism, and she’s got your eyes. I know you’re on your way to Atlas soon, but I attached a few pictures, just so you could see her. _

__ _ I want you to see our little girl. Gods, that’s totes hard to write. _

__ _ I called you Daddy because it made you blush, but… _

__ _ Well… now you are a daddy. _

__ _ She’s beautiful. I can’t stop thinking it, or stop looking at her. _

__ _ I know you said there was a lot going on, but I’m glad you agreed to keep her. When it’s all over, I want you to be there for her, okay? _

__ _ I won’t forgive you if you don’t. _

_ -Neon _

  
  
  


__ She was having fun. Not that Neon didn’t always try to enjoy herself, but it was a pleasant surprise.

Jaune was enjoyable to have around, and- after he’d had some time to adjust to her- comfortable with her mannerisms. He’d led her along to a club in downtown Vale that he said Yang had recommended to him, and she’d seen why. The place was electric that night- probably half as a result of everyone around for the Vytal festival.

The blonde had been a surprise in many ways. First in having an actual decent sense of humor- Neon loved Flynt dearly, but his idea of a joke tended to involve something that could have dated her mom. Next, however--

Jaune was an excellent dancer- which is part of why she was having so much fun right then.

“You’ve got some smooth moves, daddy!” She giggled out between pumps of heavy bass, watching the way his shoulders rocked in counterpoint to his hips. She thought of herself as the girl who never missed a beat, but it was obvious that he put a lot of time into being a guy on tempo, too.

And the way he flushed when she called him ‘Daddy’ was just darling.

It was even better when she got a little playful and pressed up against him when a much more ‘intimate’ song started to play. The shy look that crossed his face before she grabbed his hands and brought them onto her hips made her want to  **eat him up.**

Neon had a bad day, but the night was looking up.

  
  


x+x+x+x+x+x+

  
  


__ _ Neon- _

__ _ I’ll be there soon. _

_ -Jaune _

  
  


__

Jaune stared quietly at his Scroll, even while he knew Saphron was staring at him from across the table in her home.

He was going to be a father. Between that and fretting over Team RWBY’s safety, he’d hardly slept. Which had led to the situation as it was.

Nosey big sisters would always be nosey big sisters.

“When were you going to tell us..?” Saphron asked, and the  _ hurt _ in her voice made him cringe. He hadn’t really had a chance to tell anyone yet, let alone his family that he’d done his best to keep away from contact with. Saphron was the only one who had ever understood, and that was part of why he knew it hurt her the most.

“I… just found out not too long ago.” His eyes turned down onto the picture again- the one that he had been trying to ingrain in his memory. Neon- her hair down, looking a mess- holding a little bundled baby with soft pink fuzz all across her skull and a little tail that peeked out of the swaddling blankets.

Neon was pretty normally, but in that picture, she was  **beautiful** . “It’s- not that I was keeping it a secret, or anything, just… I’ve only been here a night.”

His gaze moved up when he heard a deep, rumbling sigh come from his sister, and he could only smile awkwardly at her best “annoyed older sister” face. “You’re too young, Jaune.” She admonished, and he simply bowed his head in return.

It was true. But, it was something they’d done together- and it wasn’t fair of him to ask for something different, when Neon had said she wanted to keep the baby.

Some might have said it was obligation- or morals- but they didn’t hear how the Faunus had gone from panicked…

… to excited. Even though he’d just dealt with audio from her, he could tell from the way her voice had slowly become more and more vibrant as they’d talked that she wanted to be a mother.

He’d cared too much to tell her no. What kind of person would he be? A terrible one- and more than that, the more he thought about it…

The more he got to liking the idea as well. Certainly, they hadn’t dated- having spent more time talking at distance than actually together thanks to the Fall- but she was one of the few people in the world he could come to about his own insecurities anymore.

He even put a tough front up before Ruby, Ren, and Nora now.

“You aren’t gonna listen, are you?” His sister’s voice drifted in, and he simply gave her a somewhat ashamed smile. “Arcs.” She noted, cynicism and amusement dripping from her voice. She extended her hand and he handed her the Scroll. As her eyes drifted over the picture he’d had pulled up, he finally spoke.

“Her name is Prism.” Jaune noted, softly, “She’s a Faunus, like her mom.”

“You always did like cats.” Saphron noted, teasing and yet with a tenderness as her finger trailed across the picture of her new niece. “She’s beautiful… where is she, back in Vale?”

He shook his head, “Atlas. So, it’s a good thing that’s our next stop, I guess.” Contrite, but he wasn’t going to lose face in front of his sister as it was.

“When you’re done with… whatever it is that’s going on- you need to bring her here. And…” She gave him a meaningful look, and Jaune could only let his head hang back.

He’d kill someone for a drink right then.

“Yeah… gotta tell Mom and Dad, I know.”

“Someone has to. We barely knew you were alive after you left.” Saphron remarked, softly.

“I know.” No matter how much he hated that idea. The simple fact was that he didn’t get along with his parents anymore- hadn’t had a reason to.

He took being told he’d “always be welcome at home” poorly, even he’d admit it. But that didn’t stop the  **hurt** from being there in his chest.

Saphron’s gaze went back unto his Scroll and he let himself relax a bit.

“So, did you make her purr?”

“Saphron!”


	4. Her

**Letters From Atlas**

**Chapter Three**

**Her**

  
  


_ Hey Daddy- Where are you? Are you okay? Please call me ASAP. _

  
  
  


“Oww.” That was about the most appropriate response he felt he could field- well, besides the utterly pissed off look he knew was clenching his jaw as the transport travelled it’s way up to Atlas Academy. It was one thing to be caught off guard, but then to be stuck face-planting into the hard Mantle concrete was a completely different issue.

And, already they’d lost the Relic. For Jaune, that just made the day a shit-sandwich on bullshit bread.

Why was his life always like this? And that thought only further enforced the annoyed look on his face.

He hoped Neon and Prism were alright.

  
  


+x+x+x+x+x+x+

  
  
  


_ Hey, Neon- Suffice to say, stupid things happened. We’re in Atlas Academy finally, dorm block three. See you there. _

  
  
  
  
  


__ It took everything she had not to pick Prism up into her arms and disobey rules to rollerblade her way to the dorm block. As much fun as the toddler might have thought it would be, she also knew she wouldn’t be able to keep her temper from anyone who stopped her or yelled at her to stop.

Her little girl was finally getting to meet her father. She was going to see Jaune for the first time since the Fall of Beacon- in person, anyway.

They’d exchanged so many ScrollMails and the like over the years that it felt like she’d known him quite a long time- and it was funny that they’d had a fling and clicked so. Like something out of a terrible romance movie.

Yet here she was, walking along with their daughter toddling along at her side, her tail flicking just as much as her mother’s was. Flynt had wanted to come along, but he was swaggering along a little more slowly than she and Prism were- probably because Neon couldn’t keep a sedate pace.

She wanted nothing more than to run- but she knew her little girl couldn’t keep up like that. Not yet.

As they turned into the dormitory hall, she saw the group gathered in front of a pair of doors, and her jaw tightened.

He turned, and she had to fight down a sob. Why it got her so emotional, she could only guess, but all of a sudden she wanted to cry.

So, she did, the last few yards of distance were closed and she ended up stood right across from the blonde man alongside Team RWBY and the remnants of JNPR.

  
  


+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+x

  
  


He wanted to step towards her when he saw her eyes misting with tears, but as the group’s eyes turned onto her and the young girl in her overly large cat-eared hoodie, Jaune let loose a breath that stung in his chest as Neon gently pushed the pink-haired girl with her big blue eyes towards him.

“Say hi to Daddy, sweetheart…” Neon murmured, and the hall erupted into noise.

Noise he drowned out as he knelt down and swept the girl-  **his daughter** \- into his arms and let loose a laugh that was half sob and half choked gasp.

“Da?” Prism uttered, and Jaune could only laugh even more.

“Hi, baby. That’s right, I’m your dad.”

“ **EEEEEEEEEEEHHHH!!!??”**

  
  


+x+x+x+xx++xx+

  
  


_ She kissed him. That was where it had started, she remembered. A few drinks had made her warm, and he was even more hot. Reminding her of the comfort of all of her pillows and covers in her bed back home in Atlas. _

__ _ She’d kissed him, and he’d started to kiss back after a few moments of stunned stillness. Kissing had turned into making out, and making out had turned into a trip to a hotel. _

__ _ The hotel turned into a tryst, and the tryst turned into a night spent in his arms. The kind of stupid mistake her mother always said she’d regret one day, but she was always smarter than that. _

__ _ Then things had gone to hell, Beacon had come under attack, and they’d gone back to Atlas before she could do anything near talk to him about what had happened. So she’d sent him a message in hopes he’d get it and see that she was sorry. _

__ _ Sorry for what he’d lost, and sorry for not being there for him. _

__ _ And then that apology had turned into more. Worries, dreams, words of encouragement, hearing all about his exploits through him and the news outlets. _

__ _ Then, she’d found out she was pregnant. Her mother was always right, but by the time she’d soldiered up the courage to tell her mother, she’d made a decision. _

__ _ She was going to keep the child. _

__ _ She’d called her Prism- she thing that brought neon lights and the rainbow together. _

__ _ And then… _

  
  


+x+x+x+x+

  
  


He hefted her up into his arms, smiling at the way her face looked so chubby inside of the hood of her clothes. It was such a “Neon” thing to do, to put the girl in a hoodie with cat-ears built into it. The girl didn’t even have those traits, just a long fluffy pink tail to match her fluffy pink hair.

“Hello, Prism.” He said, with a smile.


End file.
